NO WILD CELEBRATION
Second gold for Dutch star, official in horror collision
THE Netherlands’ Kirsten Wild won her second gold medal at the world championships on Friday when she added the omnium title to her win in the scratch final but the third day of the tournament was overshadowed by a horror ontrack collision which left an official unconscious.
The 35-year-old Kirsten saw off Denmark’s Amalie Didericksen and Rushlee Buchanan of New Zealand in the four-discipline omnium.
She won the scratch and the elimination, was fifth in the tempo and then took first place in the points race.
Kirsten can add to her tally at the championships over the weekend when she is entered in the points race and Madison.
“I focused all my winter preparation on these worlds. I am in the shape of my life,” said Kirsten after being cheered on by the 5,000-strong home crowd.
Earlier in the exhausting omnium race, a jury official suffered what appeared to be a serious head injury when he got caught up in a high speed collision on the track.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) official ran onto the oval track to retrieve a bib dropped by a rider but was then accidentally hit by Hong Kong rider Diao Xiaojuan at full speed.
After being treated and stabilised on the track for 15 minutes, the official was taken away on a stretcher, unconscious and bleeding from the head.
Diao, 32, who was taking part in the scratch leg of the four-part omnium, was herself also taken away in a wheelchair in pain and in floods of tears.
The race was restarted 45 minutes later.
“The commissioner who was injured underwent a series of tests and is in a stable condition,” said a UCI statement later on Friday.
“He will remain in hospital under observation and his condition will be re-evaluated tomorrow.”
Germany’s Kristina Vogel won the women’s sprint title ahead of Australia’s Stephanie Morton.
Pauline Sophie Brabosch, also of Germany, took bronze with Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee Wai Sze the rider to miss out.
Kristina, the 27-year-old Olympic champion, had also won gold as part of the German team sprint on Wednesday and will look to make it a treble on Sunday when she goes in the keirin.
Italy’s Filippo Ganna claimed victory in the men’s individual pursuit with the 21-year-old seeing off Portugal’s Ivo Oliveira in the final.
Russia’s Alexander Evtushenko took bronze after getting the better of Britain’s Charlie Tanfield.
Elsewhere on Friday, Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer, the silver medallist in London two years ago, is well-placed for the men’s individual sprint gold, especially after Dutch rival Johnny Hoogland was eliminated in qualifying. AFP